Bristol-Myers Squibb buys rights to depression drug compounds from NeurOp for a potential $75.5 million

Atlanta, USA-based preclinical stage drug developer NeurOp Chas entered into a collaboration with drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb focused upon the development of NeurOp's proprietary small molecules for use in the treatment of major depression and other central nervous system disorders.

Under the terms of the agreement, B-MS has agreed to pay privately-held NeurOp an upfront fee of $1.5 million and to fund a two-year research collaboration. In addition, NeurOp is eligible to receive up to $74 million in potential milestone payments for the successful development of a compound in major depression and royalties on worldwide sales of commercialized compounds. The compound class to be developed comprises NR2B subunit-specific N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists.